![]() If you do this, make sure the speaker emulation on the FX box is turned off and you'll be good to go. Sometimes, when you plug a preamp in to another preamp, there is a muddiness or dulling of the sound that occurs. Most modeling boxes such as the Line 6 Pod line, Digitech RP series, Boss GTx stuff sound and feel better (when using all of their modeling technology) going directly in to the effects return of an amp rather than going in to the guitar amp's "input." This is because the pedal board/modeling box already has a preamp built in to it. If you experiment with this, be sure to consult your owner’s manuals and take note of any minimum load requirements for speaker outs if you are using a standalone amp head. Remember that there will be no sound coming out of your combo amp because your effects send completely interrupts the signal, but you might get some cool sounds mixing preamps and power amps from different amps. say the FX return (power amp in) of large tube amp. You can go out of the FX send (preamp out) and go in to a more powerful power amp. It’s a low wattage amp and you need more power. Let's say you have a combo amp with a serial FX loop. Some amps call the effects send a "preamp out" and the effects return a "power amp in." These terms are interchangeable for the most part but suggest some interesting possibilities. It seems like there is no noticeable deterioration in tone and I can still get what I need to out of my effects. There are pedals you can purchase to correct for this type of issue, but I like to limit my serial FX loops to about 6 good quality, fully powered pedals. If you're using good quality effects, you really don't have much to worry about, but if you have a tendency to use a ton of pedals in your loop or you've got some old, dirty pedals, some low batteries or questionable cables you can really do a number on your tone. This can be a cool way to work, but it means that your tone gets smashed through every little box you put in it's way. With this setup, you are blending your amp sound with each effect in the chain, so your mix knobs on your effects control how much of your original sound makes it out the other end. The "send" would then go to your pedal(s) and then the OUT from your last pedal would go in to the "return" which returns the signal to the amp. When you stick a plug in to the "send" you are completely interrupting the signal flow. With this setup, there is an effects send (out) and an effects return (in). This is the most common for middle of the road amps. Each one of these types of situations can affect the optimal settings used on certain pedals and their placement. Most amps on the market today deal with effects routing in one of 3 ways: serial, parallel, or input only (no effects loop). In "Part 2" we're going to look at individual FX placement and alternative ideas to get some cool, unconventional sounds. ![]() In Part 1 of this series we're going to look at different amp configurations, their pros and cons and talk briefly about general pedal placement. While multi-effects generally do this for you (sometimes poorly), and offer cryptic manuals detailing how they have decided your effects will be routed, I have yet to purchase a standalone pedal that includes literature telling me where to put it in the effects chain for optimum use. One of those things that is never really "taught" is how to place effects in your signal chain so that you'll get the most out of them. You might spend more money than you need to trying to "get the sound" when you may already have all you need in an old box in your closet. You may notice that your sound gets muddier instead of 'cooler.' You may buy something because you heard it on a recording you liked and then wondered why it sounds nothing like what you initially liked. As your collection grows, so might your confusion. Even if you're just starting out, you probably own or have access to some effects pedals, a guitar amp and/or a multi-effects unit. ![]()
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